Birthday Gift That Keeps On Giving
by Yuna Yami Mouto
Summary: Once, Tobirama got an unusual gift for his birthday. Now, years later, the gift kept on giving.


**Birthday Gift That Keeps On Giving**

**Summary: Once, Tobirama got an unusual gift for his birthday. Now, years later, the gift kept on giving.**

Perhaps it was just him and because he was turning seven, but Senju Tobirama was of the opinion that his gift was a rather odd one. For their birthdays, his brothers never got a gift like _this_. Six year old Itama had gotten his first katana, four year old Kawarama had gotten his first kunai, shuriken and senbon set and a ten year old Hashirama had been gifted with his first ever armor, a sign that he was now officially a Senju soldier, even if he will only be going on errand missions and not yet to the battlefield. Hell, even thirteen year old Toka, their cousin, had gotten her first naginata pair this year for her birthday!

Instead, for his seventh birthday, Tobirama got a _person_.

And a _blind one_.

It was a boy, probably Hashirama's age and a little bit taller than his Anija. They had spiky, wild midnight black hair and relatively pale skin. Not Hatake pale, like Tobirama had inherited from his mother, but nowhere near the 'pale' by Senju standards either. Though it was hard to tell with the hefty amount of dirt on the older boy. They were, ironically, dressed up in clean, neat clothes with an actual _bow_ around their neck. And to top it all off, there were seals encircling the boy's wrists and a blindfold of sorts over his eyes so he couldn't even see the whole of his face.

All in all, Tobirama is unsure as to whether he liked this particular gift or not.

"Anata," his mother spoke in a stern tone as she glared at his proudly beaming father. Butsuma was all but preening at his gift. Hashirama looked uncertain when Tobira glanced his way and their younger brothers were mostly confused and curious about the new person in their home. "What is the meaning of this? Where did you get this boy and why would you make him our son's _birthday gift_?"

Butsuma only puffed up his chest more, obviously pleased with himself. "Well, my respected wife, this boy is Tobirama's _gift_ because he is, quite frankly, the most ridiculously skilled and powerful sensor my men or I have ever come across. The boy is _blind_, Kira, and yet he fights as though he has the sight of the Uchiha. I figured our own sensor son could do with a few lessons and it never hurts to give our children _servants_." The way he said servants implied that the boy would be anything _but_. His proper title in the household would be _slave_. _That_, Tobirama was sure, was not something he condoned or even wanted to remotely be a part of.

"And what clan might he be from, Butsuma? Have you thought of _that_?" The Lady Senju asked, sounding wary and exasperated in equal measure. "Can you be sure his family won't come knocking on our door to demand him back? We don't have the resources to lead _two_ wars. The Uchiha are dragging us ragged as it is!"

"We made it look like it was _them_, actually, so if anyone will be fighting on two fronts, it will be _them_." Well, at least _that_ was a good strategic move. The Uchiha have been, indeed, particularly vicious. For the whole of the last five years. It was as though they had suddenly gained the strength of a hundred warriors but the only new addition to the battlefield in that time had been the 'Devil Spawn' that seemed capable of setting fire to all of Hi no Kuni's forests all by himself. No one who _saw_ the Uchiha was left sane enough to describe or identify him so the Senju didn't know who to ambush the second a fight starts, which unfortunately gave the 'Devil Spawn' enough time to kill dozens of Senju shinobi. "Think of it like this: Tobirama gets to learn more about sensing, he gets a servant _and_ a body guard and we get an incredible asset to our clan."

"But he's blind, tou-san," Itama pointed out innocently, gazing with wide eyes at the bound and blindfolded boy who was holding his head regally high up as though he were the Daimyo. "How can he protect Tobi-nii if he can't see? How will he even move around?"

"The seals will dampen his sensor abilities," Tobirama also pointed out, curious about what use a _blind_ sensor would be to _anyone_. As much as he wanted to master the new abilities that were driving him _insane_ since they were getting stronger and stronger with each day he grew older, he doubted this wild boy was the answer.

If anything, Butsuma seemed to become even more smug. "That's the _beauty_ of my gift, my boy! He's such a strong sensor that even with three chakra suppression seals, he can 'see' the world around him! He nearly slit Sugoroku's throat when he tried to scare him in his _sleep_!"

That _was_ impressive. Sensing - normally - required active kneading of chakra. Stronger, natural sensors like Tobirama was turning out to be, needed to actively kneed chakra for longer distances and more specific sensing. For this boy to be kneading chakra _in his sleep_ ... Or to _feel_ even when he's asleep and _not_ ...

"Be sure to take good care of your gift, Tobirama. I'm not sure I'll ever find one as grand as this again."

"Of course, otou-sama."

00000

The boy that was his gift was silent, more silent than Tobirama had ever thought a person to be. The ten year old was obviously well trained in stealth and walking around blind was nothing unusual, even in a completely new environment. He silently followed Tobirama to his room and was now sitting on the futon mat provided for him.

Tobirama could only stare at him, unsure where to even start.

His father had a clear plan for the unknown boy. He was to be Tobirama's teacher, his servant and his bodyguard until Tobirama mastered all that the boy had to teach. Butsuma was of the opinion that, by that point, they'll be able to have long since conditioned the boy to be loyal and fight for the Senju, thus providing a spectacular new asset to their war with the Uchiha. The second Senju son, however, had his doubts. Whoever this boy was, he was well past the age where such tactics may work.

Besides, the boy was obviously smart. He kept quiet and observed. Not with his eyes, but what are eyes in the face of sensory abilities that could practically read emotions? He kept silent and let the others to do all the talking for him, allowing them to assume as they wished, which gave him room to act.

Tobirama swore he won't fall for such methods.

Still, his curiosity was his defining trait and will, quite possibly, be the end of him. And the boy before him was something new and something not yet seen. Sensors were rare, almost extremely so, especially strong sensors like this boy appears to be. Tobirama was _curious_. Especially since he seems to share this boy's fate.

"What's your name?" He figured that's the best place to start with his curiosity. Besides, he was getting sick of calling him 'the boy' in his head. It was annoying. But the other didn't answer, instead staying quiet. Tobirama knew he wasn't _deaf _as well as blind, since he had heard him scoff when Butsuma expressed his desire to turn him into what may as well be a well trained dog that fought for the Senju. The white haired Senju scowled. "Don't ignore me. I asked you a question."

"Does the little Senju demand an answer?" Tobirama nearly jumped at the unfamiliar voice that fell from the boy's mouth. The black haired ten year old had a mocking smile on his face.

"Yes," Tobirama growled out. "Also, don't call me 'little Senju'."

"As the little Senju orders." Tobirama takes it back. He doesn't want the other talking at all.

"Well?"

"'Well' what?"

"Your name is?" He prompted, feeling like he was going to get a headache. He had not signed up for this. Wasn't this supposed to be his birthday gift? Not that he exactly approved of the choice being a _human _to begin with, but he wished it could have been at least a less aggravating one.

"Unimportant, little Senju. What do you wish me to do?"

Tobirama nearly screamed in rage and tugged all of his hair off until he was bald in annoyance and he just knew that the bastard was aware of this and getting a kick out of it. He took a deep breath and let it go for now, recognizing a losing battle when he saw one. He'll get the other to tell him later.

"I want you to start teaching me about sensing."

"You need to be a bit more specific," came the dry answer and Tobirama wondered how the other could be so nonchalant right now. He was held captive in - possibly - enemy territory, practically turned into a slave and his access to his chakra was all but shot. Tobirama wasn't sure if he could be so calm about a situation like that. And yet this guy was teasing and mocking the people his continued living depended on.

He was either confident to the point of arrogance or extremely stupid.

As he already knew that the latter was very unlikely, it made Tobirama wonder _what _made the other so confident when he couldn't even really defend himself or escape.

"I'm a sensor, like you, and my powers seem to be growing by the day. I can't always control it and it usually ends up with headaches and sensory overload. I want to know how you deal with that." It was a good start. He figured once he had that under wraps, he can start pestering the other to train him to move around and fight with a blindfold on.

"Hn, that is something I can work with," the other hummed in approval before gesturing for Tobirama to sit down wherever. "Settle down, I'm about to give you a very long lecture that is a mix of what my own sensei in this regard taught me and what I had to figure out myself and it ain't short."

Eager to get started, Tobirama followed the instruction without even realizing he had just allowed a slave to order him around. All that he cared about was the small, approving smile at his eagerness that crossed the other's face.

He wasn't sure why it made him so proud that he had been the one to cause it.

00000

"Tobirama!" His father scolded him next morning when he saw that the still unidentified ten year old was seated beside the second Senju heir at the dinning table, eating as though he were not a slave but a guest as he regaled the younger Senjus with some tale or another. "What is he doing here!? Servants don't eat with their masters!"

"It's part of my sensory training, otou-sama," the red eyed child easily answered, observing how his 'servant' easily found the 'lesser' food set out for him, wielding chopsticks as though he could see perfectly and wasn't not only blind but also blindfolded. He never missed a piece, never dropped anything and his portions of rice were almost identical each time. "He helped me some yesterday with controlling my sensor abilities and said that for everything else, I should at first watch him go about his day. I thought it would be best to seat him somewhere I can easily watch him."

"Can he please stay, tou-san?" Kawarama asked pleadingly, all innocence and cuteness. "He was just getting to the good part!"

"Good part?" The Senju Clan Head asked curiously, a frown on his stern face.

"Yeah! He was telling us about how Ototsuki Indra met his beloved Crane Wife and started his own clan to get away from his oppressive father that had dishonored him by declaring his younger son as his heir," Itama piped in, eyes still twinkling and not moving from the smiling stranger.

"Sounds like an interesting story. Where did you learn it, boy?"

The 'servant' took his time to eat a piece of carrot before he answered. "It is a tale my clan tells by a campfire when we're out on missions or on warm summer nights."

"I've never heard it before," Kira commented as she joined them at the table.

"It's a clan thing," the unknown boy answered casually before going back to his food. Tobirama wondered if he lacked manners, respect for his new 'masters' or if he was simply just really hungry. He didn't know if his father had fed the boy before he'd arrived to be presented as Tobirama's gift. Given how spirited he was, Butsuma may as well have attempted to break his spirit with starvation. Or just keep him weak enough so he wouldn't escape them on the road.

"Can you please continue the story?" Kawarama said with his best pleading puppy dog eyes, apparently forgetting that the stranger can't see them.

Still, Tobirama's servant chuckled and continued from where he'd left off, entertaining the Senju family as they broke their fast. It was a surprisingly pleasant change from the norm, even when Hashirama finally barged in after having slept through most of breakfast, as he usually did.

It was a nice morning.

00000

Two weeks after his birthday, Tobirama still didn't know his servant's name but he was sure he knew the boy fairly well by now. He had a sweet tooth he didn't bother hiding. He was a light sleeper. He had a weak spot for all children younger than him. He didn't intimidate easily. He was witty, sharp and condescending when the mood strikes him.

He was also kind, funny, intelligent and indeed a great teacher. Since he had started teaching him, Tobirama has yet to have a single headache.

And even when he doesn't manage to properly isolate the outside world if he's too tired. the older sensor would pull him to his side and make him concentrate on his chakra signature, muted as it was. It was surprisingly warm and extremely pleasant to get lost in.

"How do you identify people by chakra signature alone?" Tobirama found himself asking one morning while he was going through his warm up kata for a grueling training session with his father. His servant was simply sitting nearby, seemingly content to just enjoy the cold wind ruffling his wild hair. Tobirama had made him sit through a brushing just that morning, thinking that the other never bothered with it, but it was still as wild as ever, seemingly its natural state. It had been surprisingly soft under his fingers. He kind of wanted to run his fingers through it all the time and maybe even nuzzle his face into it. It was too soft for the boy's own good.

"Hn. You're still a long way away from learning how to do that, little Senju. You don't even know how to identify chakra nature yet and you want to recognize different individuals already?" At least he sounded amused and not mocking or condescending.

"Okay, teach me that first," Tobirama conceded, seeing the point. To his surprise, though, his 'servant' shook his head in a negative and stood up from where he had been waiting for Tobirama's training to finish. He then walked over to the Senju and grabbed his hands, moving him around until he was in the proper stance.

"That can wait. You first need to be able to survive, so obviously I have to correct your horrendous kata performance."

"My stance is perfectly fine," Tobirama snapped and purposefully snatched his hands away, going back into his former stance. The older boy tsked. Then he moved almost faster than Tobirama could properly register and Tobirama found himself reacting almost too late to block a punch to his gut. He stumbled under the force of it and then fell over easily when his 'servant' followed up with a simple shift of his hips that pressed more of the other's weight on Tobirama's weak defense. "Okay, I see your point. What was the proper stance again?"

The black haired boy snorted in good humor even as he offered the younger his hand to help him back to his feet. This time, Tobirama didn't resist or try to protest the stance the other guided him to. It felt a bit weird but he could tell the difference. Especially when the taller boy repeated the move from earlier and his defense held.

"Footwork and proper stance are crucial to a dance done right," the strange boy instructed, though Tobirama paused for a second as he pondered why the other was talking about _dancing _of all things.

Then it occurred to him what the other was referring to and rolled his eyes, comfortable with such a childish gesture since he knew the other can't see him. "Taijutsu is not dancing."

"Hn. Isn't it?" Tobirama startled when the boy in front of him suddenly fell into an easy stance that he had never seen before. When the stranger started moving through a kata, it was fluid and elegant yet there was no denying the strength behind each movement. "If a dancer is stiff when they dance, the dance loses its beauty and does not impress the audience. A stiff dancer is not a favored one. Now, if a shinobi is stiff," the boy poked at Tobirama and he immediately stiffened at the prodding finger. He hated that he was proving the other's point. "Their efficiency is compromised. Stiff muscles are not muscles that produce strength. Instead, the energy that should go into a punch or a kick," Tobirama grunted when the other kicked at his hastily crossed arms, making him slide back across the snow several feet. His servant was definitely stronger than his small body suggested, even without chakra. Tobirama wondered how strong he actually was at full capacity. "Is wasted in the muscles themselves, burned out. Taijutsu is nothing more than a deadly, elegant dance that the civilians would be both fascinated and terrified by."

"How can you fight like that when you can't even see?" Every movement was precise, elegant and executed perfectly. It was beauty at its deadliest and Tobirama was fascinated.

"Hn. I'll teach you that as well when you're ready. And you won't be ready until you learn your katas properly. It would be useless, otherwise."

"Will you spar with me when I learn?" The white haired one asked after a pause. The other finished his set of kata before 'looking' in Tobirama's direction.

"I don't see why not."

"And will you tell me your name if I beat you?"

Now the other was amused. "Still stuck on that?"

Tobirama scowled with a huff. "It's only common courtesy to tell your name to someone who's already introduced themselves." Though he could see why the other wouldn't say. His name was the only thing that was still _his_.

The older boy stayed silent, just 'looking' in Tobirama's direction and the Senju was starting to feel uncomfortable even if the eyes were not visible as they stared at him. Then, an almost fond smile quirked on the other's lips. "Very well, little Senju." Before Tobirama could throw the usual 'tantrum' - for all that glaring at the offender can be considered a 'tantrum' by any standards - his 'servant' continued. "When you defeat me in a spar, I shall tell you my name. Until then, because my mother _has _taught me manners, you may call me Dara."

Tobirama's scowl immediately went away in pleasure. Finally. "We have a deal, Dara."

00000

"That's not how you should throw a shuriken," Dara said a month later, 'looking' up from where he was entertaining Kawarama with yet another story while the three older Senju brothers were training with their cousin, Toka. The four practicing Senju jumped from where they had been teaching their youngest shurikenjutsu, having completely tuned out the 'servant' and his far too fascinating and distracting stories. Tobirama had never before wanted to go into the library and search through old books on folklore and legend as he did whenever Dara talked about the biju, the mother of chakra, the God Tree or the Rikudo Sennin just to check how accurate Dara's retelling was.

"Shit!" Toka grabbed at her beating heart, startled. "Fuck, I always forget how creepy that is," she complained, referring to Dara's ability to 'see' even when blind and blindfolded to booth. "And what do you mean it's now how to throw a shuriken? I'm very proficient at shurikenjutsu, thank you very much!"

"Sure, but there are better ways to do it, too," the boy countered even as he pet Kawarama once on the head before standing up and approaching the other shinobi. "May I?"

Toka eyed his suspiciously. "I'm not sure I want to hand sharp weapons to a blind person around my little cousins."

Dara didn't fight her. Instead, he turned expectantly to Tobirama,who easily gave up his shuriken pouch. He was perfectly well aware of how much Dara could 'see', as he had grown curious and had asked the older boy if they could run some tests. Other than color, Dara saw _everything_. "If I hit every target without moving from this spot, you'll learn to throw shuriken how I think is right."

"And if you miss?" The kunoichi challenged and Dara paused to think before smiling challengingly.

"Then, for every target that I miss, I will answer one question from each of you, fully and truthfully." The five Senju present stiffened at the prospect of getting to ask questions and actually get answers for them. Dara never actually answered any questions that they asked, no matter how stubborn they were about it. And with there being four targets set up in front of them and five in the trees, it proved a delicious opportunity none of them would give up on.

"Deal."

Dara nodded and shooed them a bit away from him before he took four shuriken into each hand. The straight targets were easy and landed in the bulls eye without hesitation. Dara paused just long enough to take out four more, changed his stance a bit but not moving a single inch from his original spot, crossed his arms, took in a deep breath and then let it rip. A barrage of four shuriken flew seemingly completely off target before the other four collided with them, some even having a second collision with other shuriken and the Senju watched in wonder how the shuriken all changed trajectory until one by one, the shuriken surely and solidly embedded into the bulls eye of the other five targets.

The 'servant' turned to them with a sadistically friendly smile. "Who wants to go first?"

The Senju cousins had never wrestled more fiercely than that day.

00000

"Who do you think you are, to correct _my _kata stance!?" Senju Butsuma's voice thundered throughout the Compound as he glowered down at Dara, who had absently been pointing out to Itama all the things the Clan Head was doing wrong during a spar with Hashirama and Tobirama. The two-colored-haired Senju flinched away from the 'servant' when Butsuma marched in a rage towards the ten year old. "You are to be Tobirama's slave and sensor ability teacher, not to correct my stance! What do you even know? You still reek of your mother's milk, boy!"

"You protest too much for someone so confident in their skills," Dara casually said, unimpressed and not t all scared.

"You forget your place, brat!" Butsuma growled and Tobirama winced when he saw his father raise a hand, about to strike his 'servant' and all three younger Senjus looked away when they expected to hear a slap.

When nothing came, they looked back and nearly _gawked_.

Dara, around Butusma's lower chest in height, was standing steady, one hand over his head and easily holding Butsuma's assaulting hand well away from his body. The boy would have been staring at their father in the eyes if his own hadn't been covered in bandages. Butsuma himself was surprised by this turn of events.

You can imagine his surprise when Dara suddenly canted his hips in a different direction, took a step forward until he was under the man's guard and then proceeded to twist in such a way that threw Butsuma clear over his shoulder, making the adult hit the ground with a heavy thud.

"I think _you _forget your place in the food chain, Senju Butsuma," Dara said in a voice that drew shivers down everyone's spines. It was not a voice they had ever heard from the silent boy. "I am blind and I am sealed. If I can _still _do this to you, then we both know who is the predator here. Do better to remember this in the future."

Dara then turned on his feet and marched off back into the house.

Later that night, when Dara didn't get anything to eat as punishment for the humiliation he had handed the Senju Clan Head and had to stay in Tobirama's room during dinner, an unusually tense affair without Dara and his stories, Tobirama snuck in some moon cakes for his servant, only to find Dara touching his bandages absently.

"Did you ever see the world like normal people do?" He found himself asking as he sat down next to the older boy and handed him the treats that will have to serve as dinner.

"Hn, not even all that long ago, actually," Dara replied and Tobirama found himself a bit stupefied by the honesty. He had expected for his question to be evaded entirely, but the answer was perhaps even more surprising. Dara smiled, apparently sensing his confusion. "Come now, little Senju. I've spoken to you about colors plenty of times. Surely you must have realized that I could only do that if I actually _knew _what _colors _actually _were_. Those who are born blind don't talk about things they don't know."

"Ah, I guess that is a rather silly question when you point things like that out," Tobirama conceded, watching the other munch on the food. "How can you distinguish which person is from which clan? You've already taught me about differentiating chakra natures but you've yet to start on identifying."

"Don't pout at me," Dara replied and Tobirama stiffened. How could he-? "I guess another thing you'll eventually ask is to teach you how to discern emotions through chakra alone. That one will have to be our last lesson, as it's the hardest thing for a sensor to do. As for your question, in order to identify someone's clan, you must understand all the different clans and how their chakra in general feels. Let me give you some familiar examples. The Uchiha as a whole have a primary affinity for fire. They have larger chakra reserves than most shinobi and the core of their chakra will always feel a bit overwhelmingly hot to your senses. It's not uncommon for individual affinities from person to person, but an Uchiha will _always _have fire. The Senju, despite their overall diversity, all have an earthy feel to them. You are cooler because earth and water are the main affinities that happen in your clan. Your brother goes one step further with his Kekkei Genkai, which is basically the combination of those two chakra natures, forming Mokuton and making him feel like the forest. You, on the other hand, are a bit different."

"Because of my mother?"

Dara nodded, munching on his second moon cake before replying. "Hatake are ninety percent of the time raiton users. Lightning is in your veins. The second most common affinity among that clan is, miraculously, doton. You, to my senses, feel like calm water, a raging sea during a storm or a rainy night."

The Senju pondered what he'd been told for a moment before half asking, half stating next. "So now that I know how to distinguish different chakra natures, all I need to do is study how each clan is unique in order to identify them. Is it the same for individual chakra signatures?"

"Hn. You need to know the people at least in passing in order to identify them, though. Every sensor must meet the people they are hoping to identify or follow around with just their senses. If you want, we can practice tomorrow. I'll give you a name and you need to track the person throughout the Compound or beyond these walls."

"I would very much like that," Tobirama said with a small smile, though he wondered if he could ever hide from Dara.

He sort of didn't want the other to know that Tobirama viewed him as his first and best friend.

00000

Three months since Dara was brought to him as a gift, the older boy was in the middle of teaching him about the different clan chakra signatures when Hashirama barged into his room without knocking. Neither of the sensors jumped but they did both look annoyed at the interruption, especially Tobirama. Dara was still unusually quiet for a child so it was a miracle to get him talking this much, even when he was giving lessons or telling stories to their younger brothers. Any interruptions were always frowned upon.

But Hashirama looked panicked and his chakra was lashing out at Tobirama'se senses. He didn't need to know how to discern emotions to know that his brother was genuinely upset. "Kaa-san was poisoned by a Nara on her mission!"

Red eyes widened and the younger Senju was bolting out of his room without even sparing his brother or 'servant' a second glance. He heard Hashirama's thudding footsteps after him but he didn't feel Dara following. He wondered why that was before pushing it out of his mind and focusing on getting to his mother as soon as possible.

When he got to his room, all he saw was how pale she was, how desperately the healers were working on extracting the poison, blood running down her face from her eyes, her nose, her mouth, even from her ears and Butsuma thundering at everyone to be more competent and save his wife. He wanted nothing more than to go to his mother and hold her but he could hear Kawarama and Itama crying and knew that his duty as their older brother was to focus on them first, to comfort them.

It was hard, but he turned away from his mother and gathered his scared little brothers to guide them out of the room. Hashirama hugged all three of them in a crushing embrace as soon as he made it to the scene.

Before night fell, Senju Kira, born Hatake, breathed out her last breath.

"You knew," was the first thing to come out of Tobirama's mouth when he returned to his room and found Dara in the same place he had been when he'd ran out.

"That she was dying? Yes. The second I focused on her, it was obvious. I thought it better not to follow you. It was an intimate moment not meant for outsiders to intrude on."

The white haired boy bit his tongue before he could tell Dara that he would have wanted him there, that Itama and Kawarama had been looking around for him since he and Hashirama had managed to calm them down a little. Thankfully, the boys had fallen asleep before Kira had succumbed to eternal slumber. He wasn't sure he had the strength to comfort his little brothers while his own heart was weeping.

"I want you to teach me that, too," was what he said instead and Dara turned to 'look' at him, his expression considering.

"Perhaps another time. For now sleep, Tobirama."

It was more his actual name falling from Dara's lips than anything else that had Tobirama complying, even if he would never admit it.

The funeral wake happened the next morning. The whole clan was there as well as Tobirama's Hatake uncles and aunts that had been direct or as close to it family to his mother or her close friends. They were all dressed in black formal wear, even Dara, who Butsuma usually insisted on being dressed as prettily as the day he had been presented since he was a present to his son and that status should never be forgotten. Who the man was trying to remind was anyone's guess, since Dara was blind and couldn't see Butsuma's efforts to objectify him.

His brothers were all crying and clinging to each other but Tobirama found he could not shed a single tear, just staring with empty eyes as the coffin was lowered into the hole and dirt was thrown over it.

Butsuma disappeared off into his personal study as soon as the wake was over, leaving his sons to their own devices and grieving. Kawarama and Itama manged to cry themselves to sleep despite it being early noon. Hashirama managed to doze off not long after them as he had been watching over them.

Tobirama felt exhausted but found he could not sleep.

Gentle but calloused hands grabbed his shoulders and pushed him down until he was lying on something firm, soft and warm all at the same time. When he blinked blearily up, he saw Dara leaning over him with an understanding, soft, sad smile. "Sleep, Tobirama. I will watch over you and your brothers."

The last thing Tobirama registered before falling asleep was deft, elegant fingers gently carding through his hair.

00000

Dara could cook.

That came as a surprise to all four Senju brothers as they watched him whip up breakfast for them two days after the funeral, when he realized the rest of the household was useless in a kitchen but the brothers were wary of eating anything anyone else might give them in fear of poison. How Dara had decided they would trust him to cook their meals and not poison them was still beyond Tobirama's understanding. That they did was almost as incomprehensible but Dara had been around for more than three months and he was perfectly capable of offing them whenever he pleased with the level of skill he possessed.

And he was _good_, so he obviously did this often.

"Weren't you an active shinobi?" Hashirama asked as they wolfed down the first proper meal they'd had since the funeral. It was delicious, if a bit more spicy than they were used to.

"Yes," Dara replied distractedly as he served another portion to Tobirama with a pointed look at the white haired boy. The second eldest Senju brother wanted to ignore him, since he knew Dara's opinion that he was far too skinny, but he knew that would only end in a whooping during a spar. Dara had a temper and it could be sort of vicious. Tobirama has yet to defeat him, or come close, so Dara has yet to tell him his real name. It wasn't as important anymore. (Of course it was.) "What of it?"

"So why do you know how to cook?"

"Why shouldn't I?" The other ten year old sounded offended at that, turning towards Hashirama with what may have been a frown if his eyes and eyebrows were visible.

"Well, why would an active shinobi waste any time in the kitchen?" Hashirama questioned, sounding confused. Tobirama wanted to agree but feared what Dara might think of him if he voiced such an opinion. The older boy obviously didn't share that opinion.

"I have four younger brothers and my mother died after giving birth to my youngest. My father is busy doing his thing so caring for my little brothers falls to me. That includes household skills like cooking. Knowing how to cook isn't a shame. Knowing how to care for your precious people should be a skill to be respected."

"Well, when you put it like _that_," Hashirama conceded, looking thoughtful.

"Will you teach me a few recipes?" Tobirama cut in, earning himself some strange stares and a pleasantly surprised smile from Dara himself that may or may not have made him blush.

"You're a curious little thing, aren't you, Tobirama?" He just shrugged since he figured the question was rhetorical. "Very well. Cooking lessons right after breakfast. We can practice with lunch so you can make your father dinner to get him out of his sulk. It's irritating my senses."

Kawarama and Itama smiled for the first time since their mother was put into the ground.

That night, Butsuma at least looked _alive_ and _present_ when his sons presented their hard work to him.

Tobirama wished Dara had sat with them but he knew this was important for them to move on.

Dara had definitely been the best gift he'd ever gotten.

00000

While Butsuma never quite went back to how he was after Kira's death, he at least didn't look like an evil ghost haunting the grounds. He started training with his sons again and stopped glaring at the other _real_ servants that worked around their house. Dara still received some looks of mixed annoyance and wariness but Butsuma left him be.

By month five after Tobirama's birthday, the Senju boys dragged Dara to the nearby stream to spend their free day swimming. Tobirama had probably surprised his 'servant' with how eager he had been to get into the water but water had always been his element, an escape from all the bad that happened in his life. He knew part of it was comfort and safety since it literally _was_ his element and it meant he had an advantaged over any possible enemies, but it was also just the feel of it against his skin and the sensation of floating with little work on his part. Sometimes, he wondered if that was what flying felt like.

His brothers were just as eager to enjoy their day. It was sunny and warm with just a bit of a breeze to keep them from overheating and the water was positively _divine_. Kawarama and Itama were already splashing themselves the second they ran into the stream while Hashirama went one step further and cannon-balled from a high tree branch.

Dara kept to himself on the shore, smiling indulgently at them but not moving to join them, still dressed in one of those silly fancy kimonos Butsuma forced him to wear. Tobirama noted that the ten year old's hair had gotten longer, almost reaching his shoulders. He didn't seem to mind it any more than he did the heat.

"Come on, Dara!" Kawarama called, waving the black haired boy to join them. "Come on in! The water is great!"

"You enjoy it for me as well, Kawarama," Dara replied with a chuckle. "I am fine here. I enjoy the feeling of the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair."

"But the water feels _so good_!" Itama complained with a whine, trying to sound cute. Tobirama submerged most of his face so no one could see his amusement, even though he knew Dara felt it. Tempting Dara to come onto the water will be impossible. A different strategy was needed.

"I'm sure, but I don't feel like a swim," Dara replied, distracted as he was with the younger Senjus that Tobirama felt this was his only chance. He quickly flickered into existence behind the 'servant' with Hashirama on the other side, seemingly having the same idea, and the two of them grabbed the ridiculous clothes, tore them off and pushed the ten year old into the stream before he could take their heads off.

The Senjus found themselves laughing at the soaked rat that their 'servant' had become. Dara was sputtering and coughing up water when he surfaced, which only brought more hilarity to the situation since they were so used to him being dignified and almost regal. Sometimes, he felt like he was out of this world.

The laughter stopped when he climbed onto the surface of the water with chakra and they saw his body. There were scars usually only a seasoned shinobi has in some very worrying places. Half of those places looked lethal.

"What happened?" Tobirama found himself asking as he focused chakra into the soles of his feet and reached out shaking fingers as if to touch the big scar at Dara's left hip that almost looked like an X.

Dara tilted his head down in the direction of the scar. "A Hoshigaki ran me through with one of their big swords on a mission. Nearly took my life. I was eight."

Tobirama blanched. Younger than him but facing threats the likes of which even the strongest Senju flinched at the mere thought of. He didn't dare ask about the others but he didn't have to. Dara knew him well enough to start answering all on his own.

"This one," Dara pointed at a long scar on his right bicep. "Was a poisoned senbon. By a Yamanaka when I clashed with her near the capitol. The Daimyo's advisers had hired both one of them and one of my clan in an attempt to see who would do the job better, who would be better suited. That, or they wanted to start another war between our clans for some reason. I think it was my first alone mission. I was ... just a few weeks after turning five. This one here," he indicated the one over his right breast, a bit too close to the heart for Tobirama's comfort. "I got from a Senju. The first time I entered a live battlefield, the front lines. I haven't even turned five. It was two to one. He nearly pierced a lung. The wound went right in between my lung and heart. The healer said just a third of an inch in either direction and I would have been dead. I killed them both before they could kill me."

Tobirama felt cold. The air around them had stilled and it felt like the sun wasn't enough anymore. The day did not appear so cheery right now.

Dara lifted his head. There was something of a smile on his lips. "The map of my shinobi career."

"You can't have been on only three missions," Tobirama countered, ashamed of how shaky his voice was. Dara hummed, not agreeing or disagreeing but his skill spoke for him.

"Are you up for a dance, Tobirama?"

Tobirama gladly accepted. _Anything_ to get rid of the tension and sparing was a good way to forget about the dark turn their afternoon had taken. They put on quite a show, much to the awe of his brothers, who had never actually seen Dara 'dance'.

So much so that no one mentioned the fact that he was walking on water even with three chakra suppressant seals throughout the spar.

00000

"This alliance is important so just keep quiet and don't interfere," Butsuma snapped at them under his breath as they watched the Kurama Clan make their way into their Compound in a small procession. They were lined up by age next to their father with Dara standing right behind Tobirama, dressed in formal wear and they nodded their compliance.

The Kurama Clan Head approached once the entire procession was in and Tobirama felt Dara stiffen behind him. After eight months of knowing the black haired 'servant', Tobirama was rather familiar with how Dara got when he perceived danger or an unpleasant presence near his 'charge' and his siblings. Butsuma may think he can condition him to be loyal to the Senju and that may never really happen, but Dara had grown fond of the four brothers. That was as far as his loyalty to his captives will ever get.

It was enough for Dara to push them down when the attack came, taking a kunai to the shoulder that had been intended for Tobirama's neck, blocking the one that nearly gauged Hashirama's eye out. Butsuma didn't appreciate being thrown onto his ass but seeing as Dara was all that stood between him and his attacker's katana, he didn't make much of a fuss. Dara held off the Kurama Clan Head and two other attackers all by himself until the Senju head family's bodyguards got into gear and sprang into action. Tobirama still had no idea what tipped Dara off to be so quick, but the skirmish wasn't an easy one because the treaty delegation was not made up of half old clan elders and half shinobi, but rather _all_ active shinobi. And when the fight was over and they were all either dead or imprisoned, the man they had thought to be the Clan Head was about as much the Clan Head as the elders had been elders.

"How did you know they were going to attack?" Tobirama asked as he was getting a cut cleaned out by a medic, looking down to where Dara was lying on a berth, a bit woozy from whatever medicine the medics had given him for his rather deep kunai wound. That was bound to make a nice addition to his sparse collection of scars.

"I could sense the genjutsu," Dara replied, his words slower and heavier on his tongue than usual. "Since they put it up probably all the way back at their own Compound, you couldn't detect it and the Kurama Clan is almost as good at it as the Uchiha are. You'd need exposure to such tricks to know how to detect such a subtle disruption of chakra flow."

"How long did you know?"

"Since before they entered the Compound. I thought it was to protect themselves from bandits or other shinobi - the element of surprise is invaluable, after all - but when they didn't immediately drop it upon entering the Compound, I knew they were up to no good. My fears proved to be correct the second I felt a spike in the leader's chakra. I acted without thought."

If he hadn't, the Senju head family would be dead. Hashirama would be missing an eye at the very _least_. Itama's heart would have been stabbed through, like Tobirama's throat. Kawarama's throat would have been slit at _least_ two times instead of the X shaped scar he will have once the healers are done with him. Butsuma would have been gutted.

They owed Dara their _lives_.

"Don't you think it's time you teach me how to sense things like _that_?" That way, next time, perhaps Tobirama will be there to keep _Dara_ safe. Dara's place was _not_ in a hospital berth.

The other boy was silent before breathing out a single word.

"Yes."

00000

Butsuma left for a mission just as winter solstice was around the corner and with it, Dara's birthday. The soon to be eleven year old had been growing more and more melancholy as the days ticked by and he could not muster up a sincere smile ever for Kawarama. Tobirama knew why, understood and knew there was only one gift he could give Dara that would make him happy for both the holidays and his special day, even if it would leave him lonely like he'd never been before. He'd grown used to Dara. They'd come a long way since the stranger and outsider who was only as worth as the things he had to teach him and the boy who didn't want a human for a present but was unwilling to oppose his father by turning him away. Dara was easily one of his most precious people and that was why Tobirama knew he had to do this.

He had to let him go.

Dara was like the hawks he was currently dealing with. Some of the Senju falconers had come out with their birds to give them some exercise since the snow had finally let up. The adults were reluctant to let Kawarama, Itama _or_ Hashirama anywhere near their hawks, much to their dismay. So Dara, being as amazing as he was, had let out a sharp whistle and extended his arm. Immediately, the biggest, strongest of the five raptors flying overhead had landed on his arm with a cry of its own in answer. The bird would not leave Dara no matter how much its trainer called and ordered it back. Much to the other boys' delight, Dara gladly showed off the bird, careful in instructing the three on how to act around it and not to make any sudden movements as though to touch it. The hawk seemed rather content on Dara's forearm, even without treats. Though Kawarama was quick to run off and get some when Dara commented on feeding tricks he knew how to preform with it.

In the end, the other falconers had sat back and watched as Dara played with their birds.

So Dara was like the hawks. He was wild even when 'tamed', he was pretty but dangerous and all of his soft spots hid sharp edges that hurt and were deadly. He was intelligent and 'saw' far more than the rest of them did.

And he was not meant to be in a glided cage.

So Tobirama approached him with the keys. "So you're good with birds, too, huh?" Which may as well at this point translate as 'Is there anything you're _not_ good at?' Tobirama hasn't found a thing so far.

"I used to have three of my own raptors back home. I wonder if anyone's been taking care of them?" He mused as he finally sent the birds away, back to their trainers. At least they didn't look as pissed off as they had been at the beginning. Kawarama and Itama toddled after them with still fresh excitement but at least the trainers let them around the birds since the boys now knew the basic attitude one is to take around them. Hashirama had long since dozed off on the pile of pillows and blankets on the back porch of their house. He tended to act like the plants during winter and was always sleepy.

Which meant Tobirama was virtually alone with Dara. "Perhaps you can find out when you go home." Dara turned to him in surprise, his brow furrowing above his bandaged eyes. The white haired boy cut him off before he could ask any questions. "I studied the seals suppressing your chakra. I know how to undo them. Please let me do it and then run. Otou-sama is away. This will be your only chance. It's my birthday gift to you."

It was only fitting. After all, Dara had been made basically a _slave_ for Tobirama's birthday. It made sense that Tobirama's birthday gift to him in turn would be his freedom.

"You'll get in trouble for this," Dara warned but didn't move his hands away when Tobirama grabbed his wrists to unseal the inked patterns there.

"Everyone knows by now that you can use some chakra despite the seals. They'll just think you took the open opportunity you got from Otou-sama's absence. Besides, I _know_ you've been breaking down the integrity of the seals since day one." He'd realized only recently, when he became a skilled enough sensor under Dara's tutelage to understand the subtle spikes, flares and churning of his chakra and what that meant to the slowly weakening seals. Dara would have never stayed. A month or two more and he would have been free all on his own.

Tobirama would rather free his first friend on Dara's birthday than have Dara run away from him on his own.

The seal on Dara's back, over his heart where he cannot reach even if he knew anything about fuinjutsu, had long since been broken. Dara had, apparently, spent most of his time working on that one. The ones on his wrists were easy in comparison. As soon as they broke, Tobirama was hit with a tidal wave of heat, an inferno that made him feel like he was at the core of a star and he would have fallen over if not for the steadying hand Dara put on his shoulder to hold him up. Tobirama blinked blearily up at his 'servant', disoriented, even as Dara reached into his weapons pouch and took out all of his kunai.

That he didn't fear Dara will slit his throat when he was vulnerable like this was ridiculous.

Instead, he only wanted to burrow into that heat that he'd caught only snatches of since his sensor training started. It felt so _good_ he feared he might get addicted if he didn't pull away.

He didn't want to _pull away_.

"Thank you," was whispered across his forehead and a feather like kiss followed the words before a sound like cutting hair and bandages reached his ears. When Tobirama looked up, thinking he'll actually see the whole of Dara's face, a flare of that monstrous chakra overwhelmed him to the point of knocking him out.

When he woke up, all that was left of Dara was a bandage with a strange seal inked into the inside of it with some strands of hair surrounding it while Hashirama was panicking and calling his name out far too loudly.

Dara was gone.

00000

Years passed and Dara was never far from his mind. Even as he became an active shinobi, buried two brothers and his father, became the Senju Heir and war general, the 'White Demon' and the 'Bane of the Uchiha', even as he stood by Hashirama's side as he shook hands with _Uchiha Madara_ and he had to make nice with Uchiha Izuna, his greatest rival, even as Konohagakure no Sato was built, Tobirama's mind always strayed to his old 'servant'.

It would be from the simplest things of 'What is he doing now?' and 'What _was_ his name, in the end?' to more complicated thoughts he'd rather not ponder the reason behind like 'Does he think of me, sometimes?' or 'Does he even _remember_ me?' These thoughts would plague him even as he completed his work at the Hokage Tower as a founder and administrator. Madara and Hashirama might be the _official_ founders but Tobirama and sometimes Izuna were just as involved. Hashirama's epic friendship with Madara had ended a centuries old war, but he tended to get distracted a lot and the Uchiha Clan Head had quite a temper on him that simply terrified people. It was mostly effective when dealing with the newly established Council of Clan Heads, since they were all trying to bring something as useless as _politics_ and _power games_ into the village, but it tended to terrify people so they usually avoided him as much as they could, slowing down the work because they handed the forms addressed to Madara to whatever poor soul was brave or stupid enough to enter the man's office.

It was amusing as it was frustrating. Madara may be considered a battlefield demon but he was a decent person if no one annoys him with too much idiocy or incompetence. Which seemed to be a high order for most.

The albino thinks he and Dara would have gotten along like a house on fire.

Tobirama sighed as he felt a headache start throbbing behind his temples. It was hist birthday and even years after his seventh, Dara always popped up more in his mind on this day and on the twenty fourth of December. Izuna, the annoying lightning bug that he was, had gotten offended by how moody Tobirama had been for Madara's birthday, even if the man himself hadn't. In fact, Madara had mostly been only contemplative towards him, distantly polite with only a few sarcastic comments or rare jokes, since the village was built. The older Uchiha often looked like he didn't know what to think of him.

It didn't help the useless infatuation Tobirama found himself realizing one sleepless night.

Or how much it was in conflict with the feelings he had harbored for his first ever friend for well over a decade and a half of his life.

At least his birthday was a day to think of only Dara.

"Would it be too much to ask of fate to make you my gift for a second time, Dara?" He mused to himself with an ironic, bittersweet smile as he looked out of his office window onto the snow covered village. Dara never did mind the cold, always saying his internal fire from his chakra nature kept him warm. Judging from the surge when it had finally been freed, Tobirama could see how that could work.

He sighed and went back to work, only to have a knock on his door interrupt him not ten minutes later. He called out to whoever it was to come in, not bothering to look up from his work until he received a wack over the head.

He glared up at Madara as the older man tsked. "Did you not feel me or were you just going to ignore me, a _potential enemy_, Senju?"

"What do you _want_, Uchiha?" He snapped back, rubbing the spot Madara had abused. He was already in a foul mood. He wasn't up for dealing with Madara when he was 'mooning' over Dara, as Hashirama liked to put it.

"Here. Your birthday present," the dark haired man shoved a package wrapped in simple red into his unsuspecting hands before whirling around and heading to exit the office. "Meet me for a spar after lunch. Don't be late or I'll kick your ass extra hard."

Tobirama shouted profanities after him and was tempted not to show up at all, just to spite him.

The gift changed his mind.

It was a simple lunch bento, generic enough that Tobirama almost thought Madara had bought it at some restaurant in order not to put in too much of an effort. But the taste was familiar. He'd spent five months of his life eating food as spicy and as delicious as this.

He wasn't sure if he went to the spar because he was pissed off or extra melancholy and needed to sort it out through some aggression. Either way, Madara was a good target for his frustration.

The man was waiting for him, weaponless and armor nowhere in sight, at one of the newly built training fields, arms crossed and idly standing there, letting the wind play with his wild midnight black mane. He looked oddly serene, standing there in the snow, as thought the cold didn't bother him at all. He was the only spec of color in the white for a good bit of distance.

The scene felt too familiar and was too painful on this day.

He used to find Dara just like this, years ago.

He knew Madara was a sensor almost on par with himself, so he didn't bother to say anything. Tobirama just surged forward to attack, gritting his teeth at how easily Madara whirled around to block him. The Uchiha tsked at him again, pushed at him and Tobirama stumbled back a step, trying to correct his stance. "Such sloppy foot work. Do you have two left feet, Senju, to not be able to keep up in the dance, or did your mentor never teach you properly? Honestly, your stance is atrocious." Tobirama snarled and corrected himself before attacking again, just letting him vent instead of bothering with finesse. Madara kept dodging and, well, _dancing_ around all of his attacks, which only frustrated him more. "Do I need to put on a blindfold for you to stand a chance?"

The mention of a blindfold made him _snap_ and he used all of his legendary speed to lunge at Madara, tumbling them both to the snow covered ground and pinning the slightly shorter man down with chakra and a growl on his lips. He was about to curse the Uchiha into the next century - doing his best to ignore the tempting picture Madara made sprawled out underneath him with his hair pooling around his head like an inked halo and panting slightly from their spar - but the Uchiha beat him to it with a sentence that nearly gave him a heart attack.

"Hn. My name is Madara, little Senju."

The world stopped as Tobirama _gaped_ down at the man content to let him pin him down in the middle of a training field, where anyone could pass by and see them. Dots started connecting themselves. The birthday, the bento, the occasional weird look at either him or Hashirama or even Toka, the incredible sensor abilities, the _critique_ to his form. The time of the appearance, disappearance and reappearance of the Uchiha battlefield demon. The 'Hn's and the tsking, the mannerisms, the hawks, the legends and stories the Uchiha tended to tell around a campfire, the age at which Madara entered the battlefield, the overwhelmingly scorching chakra ...

Ma_dara_.

Dara was _Madara_.

"Finally figured it out?" Teased the boy who had grown into a man and was once again back in his life. Tobirama didn't know if he wanted to cry or clobber him for the smirk that crossed Madara's face at that moment. It was too smug for his liking but he had _missed _it, damn him. Had missed Dara.

"Why the fuck didn't you _say_ anything, you ass!?" The Senju demanded, scowling down at his first ever friend even as he felt his eyes sting with the threat of tears. But he wouldn't cry, not in front of _Madara_, even if he _was_ Dara and had known him as a little, too curious, still not completely coordinated kid who he had to teach sensing and taijutsu. _'Sweet Sage, I can't call myself the best sensor in the world when _Madara_ was the one who taught me!'_ He'd been allowing others or throwing that title around himself over the last few years of the war and even in the village when he wanted to aggravate someone.

How hadn't Madara laughed him off of the battlefield or out of the office by now?

"I wasn't sure," Madara replied with a shrug, his smirk waning a little, almost as though he were _uncertain_.

"And here I thought you were this _awesome_ sensor who could sense and knew everything," Tobirama mocked, doing his best to hide just how much truth was behind that statement. He _had_ always thought that Dara was capable of pretty much everything. He had always made it look that way.

"I wasn't sure if you remembered me, Senju bastard!" Snapped Madara, apparently annoyed. "You never said anything, either, and I'd thought that I taught you well enough that you'd be able to recognize my chakra signature even after years apart. I feared I may have hit you over the head hard enough to cause mild localized amnesia."

"You never hit me over the head!" At least never hard enough for it to truly hurt or be dangerous to his health.

"Yes I did! I knocked you out when you freed me so you wouldn't get punished for letting me go! I hit you in the back of your head! You had a bump!"

"I never felt it," Tobirama countered, even if he was glad to finally have an answer as to _why_ he'd had a bump despite there being no reasonable way for him to hit his head hard enough to make one in his fall since the snow had been rather thick. "You knocked me out with your chakra when it was released before you could even hit me."

"Oh," the older man sounded sheepish. Tobirama was fascinated by the flush that was slowly spreading across Madara's face. "I guess that makes sense."

"I never even had a chance to memorize your signature," the white haired man lamented. He would have recognized Madara _ages_ ago if he had.

"Can we continue this somewhere warmer? I don't like the feeling of snow soaking my clothes and hair," Madara complained and Tobirama realized he was still pinning the Uchiha down. He only now realized that his fingers were going numb where they were buried in the snow as he pinned Madara's hands on either side of his head.

"Oh. Yes, of course. _Only_," he stressed when Madara made to sit up but he kept him down still. "If you agree to a _date_. I have _not_ spent almost a whole year pinning after _you_ and over a decade after _Dara_ only for you to run off."

Madara grinned.

00000

"How did you end up captured by the Senju, anyway?" Tobirama found himself asking as he stared dazedly at Madara as the Uchiha made himself at home in Tobirama's kitchen, preparing some dish for their first date, since he didn't want people gawking at them or overhearing their conversation. It was bound to be a drama show if people learned _Uchiha Madara_ had spent even an _hour_ as a Senju slave and to _Tobirama_, of all people.

Besides, Tobirama preferred to have the man to himself during both this first date and this conversation. It's been _years_ and after almost a year of Dara - of _Madara_ \- practically being his shadow, those years had been a form of torture he had never learned how to defend against.

"I was on a mission when a bunch of bloodline thieves ambushed me," Madara explained while adding some spices into whatever dish he was preparing. "They managed to hit me with a sedative and slapped the doujutsu seals on me. I ran away from them, only to stumble upon your asshole of a father and his unit. They assumed I was blind so I didn't correct them. I was close to my limits with the sedative, so they managed to catch me and brought me to _you_. I knew where I was and with whom, so I never spoke much, lest I give my identity away."

"You just quietly worked away at the seals on your bandages and then the ones our seal masters put on you," the younger ninja finished, to which Madara nodded. "Why were you even on a mission in a region known for bloodline thieves, anyway?"

"The mission paid well and I was already one of the strongest shinobi my clan had," Madara replied with a shrug. "I had the experience and the skill. I was available and fit the mission parameters. Most importantly, I've faced bloodline hunters before, plenty of times, and always left basically unscathed. No one saw a reason why I _shouldn't_ go on the mission. Besides, it was me or Hikaku. Hikaku wasn't nearly the ninja then that he is now and I needed to have someone who will watch over my remaining little brothers. I still had two, back then. I didn't trust Tajima to not push them into my lifestyle. Even Izuna, second only to me as he may be and a prodigy in his own right, wouldn't have been ready for that mission."

_'And he wouldn't have been half as useful to otou-sama, either,'_ Tobirama thought wryly, knowing that Izuna would have died instantly if Butsuma found him even if he did manage to escape the bloodline thieves. Madara had only remained alive because he was _useful_. And smart. Izuna was much too proud and much too impulsive. He wouldn't have been able to keep his identity a secret and his life would have very much depended on it. Besides, Izuna wasn't a _sensor_. He would have been useless in Butsuma's eyes, even if he did hide that he was an Uchiha. "How about that you were too young? Also, all offense meant, but Tajima sounds to be as big of an asshole as my father was." Madara snorted at that but Tobirama didn't pay that any attention. Something else had just occurred to him. "Does this mean you knew who Hashirama was from the start? Did you know I followed him? How come you didn't stop me?"

"Did your brother have the same bowl cut when I was with you?" Madara asked, sounding disgustingly impressed with Hashirama's bad fashion choices and how long they've lasted. "And yes, of course I did. It surprised me when I realized that the idiot didn't recognize me, though. When I felt you, I figured he mentioned our meetings and you figured it out that it was me so you followed to check. By the time I realized not even _you_ recognized me, it was too late. You'd already run off to tell Butsuma and Izuna saw you and did the same with Tajima."

Tobirama rubbed at his temples, feeling loss for what could have been had he not been so hasty. If Izuna ever listened to anyone, it was Madara. If he hadn't run off to immediately tell his father, they could have made peace and built Konoha the second Tajima and Butsuma took down each other in battle. But he had lost Kawarama and Itama already and had only Hashirama left and he had feared losing him. (He had tried his best not to contemplate whether Dara was alive at all for his own sanity.)

What was worse, he would have done it all over again in a heartbeat.

And he had a feeling Madara understood.

"Why did you never try to hint at who you are, at least?" He asked instead of blurting out a far more offensive and sensitive question of if Madara had ever grieved for Kawarama and Itama when Hashirama had no doubt told him about it. He knew Madara undoubtedly did. The Uchiha had been very fond of all four Senju brothers, after all. He had probably grieved more than Butsuma had.

"Who says I didn't? You and Hashirama were just oblivious to it. For Sage's sake, Tobirama! I've invited you and your brother to _dance_ plenty of times! You always turned me away, not even noticing the phrasing I used," the Uchiha huffed, finally turning towards Tobirama as he let whatever he was making cook a bit. He had an annoyed expression on his face. "Although, given how bad you were earlier, you must have forgotten all of my dance lessons. Your form and footwork had been _abysmal_!"

"I still beat you," Tobirama shot back with an offended glare.

Madara sniffed, lifting his nose into the air arrogantly. "The only reason you _touched_ me was because I was looking for an excuse to open your eyes. Honestly, I heard about albinos having eye problems but I'd never thought you to be _blind_, little Senju. Your form offended me, your footwork made me want to cry and despite being famed for speed, you could not keep up. I admit, that might be Izuna's fault. He'd never been particularly good at that particular dance. He preferred swordsmanship. You've grown rusty. We'll have to correct that as soon as possible."

"One, I am not an albino. My mother was a Hatake. You _know_ this. You _know_ that _I_ am half Hatake, too, so don't go throwing that bullshit around." He ignored the muttered 'That just means you're even _more _oblivious than _Hashirama_,' expertly, glaring at the older male when he smirked at his annoyance. "Two, I still tackled you and you can make excuses about letting me, it still happened." Though they both did know that if Madara had wanted, he could have cleared all the snow from the training ground with Tobirama. He _was_ Hashirama's match and even faster, to booth. Not to mention an _Uchiha_. He was naturally perceptive of a battle and had no doubt seen Tobirama's intentions before he made the first step. Tobirama had sparred and fought with Izuna often enough without the other using the Sharingan for him to know that Madara was probably even better at it than the younger Uchiha. He ignored that for now, pretending to be as arrogant as Madara was making himself seem. "And three, I thought you taught Izuna how to fight? Are you saying you're a bad teacher?"

"Izuna was, unfortunately, taught by Tajima, especially after the river incident," Madara said, sounding exasperated. Well, that would explain the extreme difference in the two brother's fighting style and the fact that Tobirama's own resembled Madara's more than his rival's did. "So, no, Izuna is not the best to hone your dancing skills."

"And who taught you? Who was your sensei for sensing?"

"My mother and one of her old friends from a small clan that's been recently wiped out, I'm afraid," Madara replied, turning back to the food when it started to sizzle. "The friend was a sensor. I don't know where my mother learned her kata. She was one of the more mysterious Uchiha."

"I'm afraid to ask but ... how did she die?" He'd never really heard much about Madara's mother but from what he remembered when he had been little and Madara had talked about her, Madara had been rather close with her and probably took after her more than after Tajima. She'd been the one to teach him how to cook, after all.

Madara stopped puttering around in the kitchen and just ... stared down at the meal he was serving onto plates now. "Butsuma killed her. About ... sixteen months before we met, give or take a week. It happened while I was away on a mission."

"The one with the Hoshigaki," Tobirama realized. The one where Madara had nearly _died_. "You felt it, didn't you." There was no way Madara didn't feel the exact moment Butsuma had taken his mother's life. He would have just turned eight and Tobirama knew that at that point, Dara had been unrivaled as a sensor. Tobirama could only compete with him after nearly a year of relentless training with him and only surpassed him around the time Kawarama died. Madara had felt his mother _die_ at _Butsuma's hands_ and hadn't let a Kurama kill him despite the perfect opportunity.

"You were too young," Madara said, as though he knew what Tobirama was thinking. If he had been looking in Tobirama's direction with the Sharingan, he would have believed that he had read his thoughts. As it was, this served only as proof of how well Madara had gotten to know him while Tobirama had remained clueless about the person he considered his best friend. "You've already lost your mother. No one would follow Hashirama. He was eleven, his Mokuton was shaky and unreliable at best, his chakra control was a child's and he lacked the experience to lead a platoon, let alone a clan in the midst of war. The Senju would have found a new, perhaps even more ruthless leader and the war would have never ended and you would have been nothing but cannon fodder. I knew there were big chances you four would die within days of a new leadership and I didn't want that. Besides, while I never liked Butsuma, I would never turn a child into an orphan just because of that if I could stop it."

"You truly are kind," Tobirama whispered after a minute of silence, pondering on the fact that, had their roles been reversed, he would not have done the same. He was too practical, too much Butsuma's perfect soldier by the age Madars had been when he'd been brought before Tobirama as a birthday gift. "I'm glad whatever gods heard and heeded my wish to see you again, Dara. Or can I still call you that?"

"I thought you'd always get grouchy when I refused to tell you or beat you in a spar so I don't have to," Madara groused even as a blush spread across his face while he placed a plate of grilled fish and vegetables in front of Tobirama with soy sauce cooked rice. All probably spicier than he'd ever make himself, even with Dara being the one who had taught him how to cook. It smelled delicious. "And flattery will get you _nowhere_, Tobirama. I'm still going to grill you with dancing lessons tomorrow."

"I look forward to it, _Madara_." The way the blush got deeper pleased him. He guessed _Dara_ could stay for fond teasing and giving Hashirama and Toka a heart attack tomorrow when he used it to reveal _who_ Madara actually _was_ to them. Toka never did get over the fact that an 'brat' had been better at shurikenjutsu than her, though it sort of made _sense _now. She'll probably demand a rematch. Hashirama will probably cry. Izuna will probably try to kill them once he hears about his brother's ten month stint as a Senju 'servant'. The rest of Konoha will be confused.

Madara will laugh.

That alone was reason enough to do it.

"I missed you," he admitted before taking his first bite of dinner and nearly moaned. He might never like spicy food on his own because he never quite puts in the right amount, but Madara seemed to remember just how Tobirama liked it.

"Shut your mouth and eat your dinner," the embarrassed Uchiha snapped and Tobirama only laughed, feeling lighter than he had in years. Madara smiled softly at that and ducked his head, barely whispering the words but they were close enough for Tobirama to hear anyways. "Happy birthday, Tobirama."

Definitely the _best _birthday gift _ever_.

Tobirama wondered if Madara would be opposed for Tobirama to unwrap him later.

"Not at all," the Uchiha replied and it was Tobirama's turn to blush under Madara's teasing grin.

He'll shut him up later.

OWARI

**A/N: Happy birthday, Tobirama!**

**R&R**


End file.
